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December 2004
Finance, Legal, Media, Politics So after great expense to the tax payer, the trial of Andrew Sant has finally come to an end with the verdict that everyone predicted from the start. So was a trial really necessary? The answer of course is an unequivocal “yes” if you ask a politician, although the Courts were less clear in making their minds up. Of the three main charges levied against Sant; High Treason, Genocide and Political Assassination, only one resulted in a unanimous verdict by the jury (although majority verdicts were returned on the other two charges). In summing up, the prosecution showed that Sant had acted with full knowledge of the consequences of his actions, and was not insane as the defence had claimed. In retrospect the defence fought valiantly; victory was deemed unattainable from the beginning band the media had already decided the outcome in advance. Indeed, despite the loss, the legal firm Audax has received offers of involvement in a number of other high profile cases and looks set to profit from the trial, if not directly, then by reputation. Meanwhile, all attention has focussed on whether the defence will appeal against the verdict, although no indication of any action has yet been noted. Legal, Media, Politics Hold onto your hats, it’s not over yet! Whilst the trial of Andrew Sant has come to an end (with the verdict that many had predicted from the start), the question of the validity of the Death Sentence has been thrown into question, especially given that it was abolished for all crimes in the UK in1998 under the European Human Rights Act. This does not seem to have bothered the Courts or the Government however, who have already set the date of Sunday 6th, February 2005 for the execution. In order to get around the legislation, the Government is apparently going to hand Sant over to an unnamed neutral country, who will execute Sant “on behalf of the British Government”. Unsurprisingly, Amnesty International has lead the condemnation of this decision, but with the public clamouring for Andrew Sant’s blood it is unlikely that the authorities will back down on the decision. Bureaucracy, Legal, Police, Politics The Constabulary is to upgrade security around Andrew Sant following the result of his trial for fear of assassination attempts before his execution (some wags have commented that they want to make sure that they kill him first). Negotiations with a private security company have now been concluded and arrangements are being made for their continued detainment of Sant ahead of his execution. However matters have been complicated by a request that the company show that none of its employees are linked to the former security group Castelan in case they attempt to free him. So far only five personnel have been approved for duty by local authorities, resulting in The Constabulary having to post extra officers at the facility until the full compliment can be made. Bureaucracy, Media, Police Following the final verdict against Andrew Sant he was rushed to a secure location to await his execution. The location of the facility has not been made known to anyone for security reasons, except for the Facilities Administrator, a small engineering staff and the security personnel who will guard it. Indeed, even the head of The Constabulary has commented that he has not been made privy to the location, despite officers from his force being employed to guard the facility. Sant is to stay at the facility until his execution, although it is not known whether he will be executed on the premises or transported elsewhere. Meanwhile, certain members of the far right press have had restrictions placed on their actions to prevent them disclosing the location of the facility should they discover it. High Society, Legal, Occult I read the news today, o boy, About a lucky man who made the grade, And though the news was rather sad, Well I just had to laugh, I saw the photograph. He blew his mind out in a car, He didn’t notice that the lights had changed, A crowd of people stood and stared, They’d seen his face before, But nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords -Lennon / McCartney Media, Police, Street Although the outcome had been predicted by many, The Constabulary now fears that there will be a backlash against them for providing the necessary evidence that led to the conviction. Of particular concern are the far right groups that have recently come out in favour of Sant’s actions, commenting that he was attempting to ensure the racial purity of the country. Others are concerned that the impending execution may also bring other radical groups into the city who will attempt to use any chaos to hide potential terrorist acts. The Chief Inspector has stated that negotiations with regards further funding of his force in light of these events are ongoing. Church, High Society, Media Fancy attending a benefit dinner in aid of Andrew Sant? Thought not, but someone appears to be planning one. In a move that can only be described as “left field” a group of performance artists are planning to stage a last supper in honour of Andrew Sant on the eve of his execution. The publicity stunt, which has drawn equal praise and scorn from different quarters of the city, will have twelve participants, each representing one of the Apostles with reference to Sant’s deeds. Church leaders have dismissed the stunt as blasphemous, but have been unable to file a Court Order to prevent the performance. Legal proceedings are set to continue. Health, Media, Police Despite a year on year increase in the levels of violent crime in the city since the early nineties, many were shocked when The Constabulary stated that it had found the remains of an unidentified person on Mow Cop. The body, which is believed to be male, was completely stripped of all flesh and had had the teeth and a portion of the knee removed. Later investigation indicated that a surgical pin had been fitted to the knee at some point in the past, although this has not aided the identification of the body. The Constabulary has asked that any member of the public who possibly has information regarding the crime to come forward. Health, Police They’re keeping quiet about the fact, but some officers in The Constabulary believe that the body found at Mow Cop may have been killed by a government agency; a theory lent an aura of credibility by the extents to which the killer has gone to remove all identifying marks from the body. Indeed, investigations are focussing on the removal of a surgical pin from the knee of the victim and who would have had access to this information. Meanwhile, a number of officers at The Constabulary have commented that they “have begun to take long walks whenever I want to talk about anything” after bugging devices were found at their Headquarters. Occult, Street, Underworld It must have been a real cold hearted bastard that killed that guy they found up on Mow Cop. Skinned him, took out his teeth, cut off his hands and feet and broke some of the other bones to. I’m telling you it’s got to be ritualistic or whatever that shit is, there can’t be any other logical explanation of why someone would go to so much trouble to make someone look so pretty. (Unidentified Loon, Hanley Bus Station). Bureaucracy, Occult, Police, Politics Don’t say anything you don’t want recorded in any government building at the moment, someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make sure there all bugged so they can find out what’s being said. Don’t believe me; then answer this question, how come so many police officers and politicians are choosing to talk outside of their station or offices? It appears that the only sure thing at the moment is that The Constabulary and Council seems to be suffering the same fate as everybody else. Church, Media, Politics In a move that has surprised some quarters in the city, church leaders have praised the courts decision to execute Andrew Sant for his crimes. Ministers from both the Anglican and Catholic Church stated that it was time for society to stand up against the evils of the world and take a tougher stance. Interestingly, a spokesmen for the Muslim faith in the area condemned the decision, a surprise given that many more Muslims were killed as a result of Sant’s actions than Christians. Church, Finance Why the sudden change of face from the church all of a sudden? One minute they’re condemning the potential death sentence, the next their praising it. If I were a real cynic I’d be looking to find out who’s just funded the redevelopment of a dozen of the city’s churches to see where their political allegiances lie. Bureaucracy, Finance, Industry, Media, Police Saturn XI continues to make headlines, although not always for the right reasons. Whilst share prices continue to soar on the back of its contract to install its data cabling in local government offices, investigations into the source of its funding have begun to slow this rise. A formal investigation has now been launched into the source of funding following the emergence of confidential files within a Swiss vault. Details are sketchy but it appears that the company may have been financed of the back of a number of illegal weapons deals made by a Russian Company. Investigators are keen not to rule out the continued involvement of Reed Communications in the matter, but state that it is likely that the company will be cleared during the course of the investigation. Health, Media, University Keele University has released its findings into the use of a “Milk” derivative used by Saturn XI to achieve near super conductivity in its data transfer system. Although the liquid used in the system bears a chemical resemblance to the drug “Milk”, it has been found that it has no addictive properties and does not have a detrimental on health if unwittingly ingested (although large amounts will lead to a poisoning effect like any artificially produced product). As a result of the findings a license has been granted to continue the production of the chemical provided that it is used solely as a conductive liquid. Investigations into how the chemical was first discovered are set to continue. Finance, University Rumour has it that the findings of the investigation into the use of a “Milk” derivative by Saturn XI may have been helped along by the company making a number of large financial contributions to the university’s science department. The figures have been well hidden within the books to prevent the casual observer from noticing, but were released to local newspapers by an anonymous source. No further statements with regards the issue have been made by either party. Finance, Industry, Media, University The investigations into the finances of Saturn XI have had a peculiar side effect, with some of the future projects that the company is working on creating interest amongst more than a few investors, once again helping the share value of the company. Whilst many are clearly offshoots or developments of their current technologies (one is simply labelled “Funding of Near Superconductivity to Superconductivity Transfer), the most intriguing is labelled “Box”. So far almost one billion pounds has been invested in the project, with no apparent returns as of yet. Costs appear to have escalated recently (almost half a billion has been spent in the last month alone) on a variety of goods and services. When questioned about the project a spokesperson for Saturn XI stated that it was a very important project that would change the way people think. Occult, University 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 100, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 100, 1100 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 100, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 100, 1100 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 100, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 100, 1100 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 100, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 100, 1100 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 100, 1000, 1100, 110, 1000, 1100, 110, 100, 1100 Bureaucracy, Finance, Media, Police Whilst everyone else was running around like headless chickens wondering what had happened it appears that at least one person was keeping their eyes open for evidence. Whilst the Swiss authorities continued to investigate the theft of the country’s gold reserve (and in a touch viewed as deeply ironic by some, its replacement with lead) documents linking the company Saturn XI to purchases from “Vselka” were found. Investigations began into whether this mysterious name was a company, individual or even rogue state begun in earnest and it was quickly established that a ex-Russian Nuclear Submarine had been impounded by the American authorities and that a search of its inventory indicated that a warhead was missing. Investigations are now focussing on whether the sale of the warhead was used to finance the company. Media, Street, Underworld Just how did $36,000,000,000 worth of Swiss Gold manage to be stolen from beneath the noses of so many guards? And whilst we’re at it, how the hell did they manage to get the corresponding weight of lead into the vault at the same time. Did no one notice the earth moving equipment they must of being using! Seriously though, the theft is a major embarrassment for the authorities, and although no one has confirmed the rumour yet it is believed that the terrorist “White Flowers” may be behind the theft. Transport, Underworld The Daughters of the Desert have been quiet lately, but this doesn’t mean they’ve been resting. Rumour has it that they’ve been investing in a serious amount of firepower (somebody mentioned that they’d sold more guns to The Daughters over the last month than they did to both sides in El Salvador) ahead of a big push against The Gambinos. Indeed, with The Constabulary having to continually divert services to deal with the burgeoning Andrew Sant crisis its getting easier and easier to get just about everything into the city, but its definitely a sellers market. With The Daughters seemingly having put first choice on just about everything you’ll have to make sure that your supplier knows well in advance if you really want something. Finance, Industry, Media, Police Asharaka continue to offer a cash reward for information that leads them to former board members Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune. It is now clear that neither party has been kidnapped by the terrorist “White Flowers” and charges have now been made against them for the embezzlement of one million pounds of the company’s funds (although The Constabulary is keen to point out that it is believed that neither party has any involvement with terrorism and have simply used the confusion surrounding the Reed Tower incident to escape). Occult, Street The Prophet is wrong. The Wind but a fool. Media, Police The Constabulary have released an enhanced photograph of an individual they believe to be involved with the terrorist “White Flowers”. The burnt out image was captured from a disabled CCTV camera in Reed Tower. No positive identification has been possible from the photo due to the individual wearing a mask to hide their identity. The authorities are hoping that someone may be able to identify the individual by any distinguishing marks. High Society, Media, Police The Reed Tower has finally been opened to the public once again following a full investigation of the premises by The Constabulary following the events of October. Although details are still sketchy it has been confirmed that the theft was from the former Reed Communications Vault. Also unconfirmed is the rumour that the vault was closed when it was discovered that background radiation levels in the vault were ten times the norm (lending further credibility that the theft was the work of “White Flowers”. Plans for a reopening celebration are under way. Bureaucracy, Media, Politics Local services are yet to release any information whether “Operation Spore Killer” was a success or not, but have recommended that the sewer systems remain off limit to all but properly authorised personnel until further notice. In related news, the authorities were also forced to apologise for the low level run by two Tornado aircraft that preceded the operation, noting that they were in fact reconnaissance planes doing a last moment ground penetrating radar sweep ahead of the release of the cleaning agent. A spokesman for local government confirmed that monies had already been put aside to pay for any breakages as a result. Occult, Street “Searching Sectors Two through Three, Level Two. Zero presence of spore found. Over”. “We’ve got some localised spore damage, looks mechanical, checking it out. Over”. Signs of recent activity, last twenty four hours. I can see a red light up ahead. Over”. “Jesus Christ, it’s fucking coming at me, run….”. - Last Transmission of Sewer Sweep Team Three, Hanley City Centre Occult, Police, Politics Rumour has it that The Constabulary is trying to get in some heavy firepower after the local authorities requested that they complete the sweep of the sewers in Hanley City Centre following “Operation Spore Killer.” Apparently they lost a team down there who were engaged in a routine sweep to check for latent spore infection, although naturally no one is actually commenting on the matter. Still whatever it was they found down there must have them spooked, rumour as it that The Constabulary is considering passing the operation directly onto the military. Bureaucracy, Media, Police, Politics, University Structural and mining engineers continue to investigate the destruction of the former Werrington Reform School following its collapse into a mine shaft. Although the building had been abandoned for in excess of twenty years, investigations are focussing on whether there was any human intervention that lead to the collapse (The Constabulary has also been called into investigate following the discovery of empty shotgun cartridges in the building). In addition a major investigation has also been called into other mines in the area to attempt to pinpoint any future problems. The findings are due in the New Year. Bureaucracy, Finance, Politics, Transport Houses were evacuated and roads closed within a half mile radius of the former Werrington Reform School following its collapse for fear of further collapses in the area. Emergency services and mining investigators were called in and a full search of the area was undertaken to ascertain whether there were any other dormant mine shafts in the area. Residents were eventually allowed to return to their homes after a few hours, but roads remained closed for a number of days. Local authorities have refused to be drawn on the issue of compensation for lost business. Bureaucracy, High Society, Industry, Media, Politics Construction crews involved in the clearance of the former GAOM Tower have stated that the last of the debris from the collapse will be cleared by February 2005 allowing for the construction of a new tower in its place. Although the plans have been with the council for a number of months now, no details have yet to be released to the public. However, all of this will change in January when the new plans will be formally presented to the city. Meanwhile, the construction company involved in the clearing of the former site has blamed “unusual radiometric activity” for the delay to the clearing works.